Assessing school-lunch feeding and nutrition education strategy for healthier kids in selected Philippine public schools

Abstract

Background: Nutrition interventions during the early years of a child’s life are anchored on the need to provide good nutrition and proper health care to optimize their growth potential as adults. In the Philippines, undernutrition is a persistent problem among 0–10 year old Filipino children. In this age group, children consume a diet poor in quantity and quality. Aim: This study aimed to assess the effects of a school-lunch and nutrition education intervention among schoolchildren in terms of attaining good nutrition. Method: Using a quasi-experimental design, children aged 7–9 years from public elementary schools in the province of Laguna, Philippines were categorized into three intervention groups and one non-intervention group. Anthropometric measurements; nutrition knowledge, attitude and behavior; and food intake among children and households were collected at baseline and endline periods. SPSS for Windows version 16 and Stata version 15 were utilized for data analysis. Results: Mean scores on knowledge, attitude and behavior of schoolchildren in intervention groups increased significantly at endline ( p<0.05). Protein requirement was met by more children and households than the energy requirement. Most children with normal nutritional status after the interventions (25.3%) belonged to the group with the complete intervention of school-lunch and nutrition education. Conclusions: The provision of both school-lunch feeding and nutrition education is effective in improving the knowledge, attitude and behavior scores and nutritional status of schoolchildren. The adoption and institutionalization of complete intervention with school-lunch and nutrition education in elementary public schools should be pursued.